"No more hostages" in Mali hotel siege

Officials in Mali, where gunmen had a hotel under siege earlier on Friday, have said there are now "no more hostages" involved at the scene.

At least 170 people were held hostage in the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital of Bamako after gunmen stormed the building on Friday morning, it was reported.

At least 30 of the hostages are believed to have escaped. It was not immediately clear whether any had been freed, or how many survived.

At least 18 people were killed – one of them Belgian MP Geoffrey Dieudonne.

"We are closely following the hostage-taking incident that is taking place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Bamako / Mali," hotel operator Carlson Rezidor said earlier in a statement on its website.

It’s understood 140 guests and 30 employees were locked in by two gunmen on Friday morning.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and the related militant group al-Murabitoun, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The luxury hotel is just west of the capital’s centre and is frequented by foreigners.

"Very early in the morning there was gunfire. Apparently it's an attempt to take hostages. The police are there and are sealing off the area," Reuters cited an unnamed security source as saying.

Police surrounded the hotel and blocked roads leading into the neighbourhood, which is also home to a number of government ministries and diplomats.

The office of Mali president Ibrahim Boubacar tweeted his thanks to the security forces for their support during the siege.

French and United States forces were present to assist local security during the attack.

It was the second major terrorist attack in the capital, after an Islamist group claimed responsibility for an attack in March on a popular restaurant, which left five people dead.